Brassieres are typically manufactured as unitary pieces having two cups, shoulder straps, and a closure that allows the brassiere to be closed at either the front or the back of the torso of the person wearing the brassiere. Conventionally, these brassieres are constructed with the two cups being of substantially identical shape and size. In actuality, the breasts of most women are not substantially the same size. Thus, a conventional brassiere with substantially identically sized cups does not properly support one of the unevenly sized breasts; that is, one cup is either too tight or too loose.
Numerous attempts have been made to address the problem of unevenly sized breasts, all of which have disadvantages. For example, some brassieres allow for the insertion and removal of pads in the cups to compensate for differences in breast sizes. Because of the way in which these pads are inserted, however, the breast is simply forced up without altering the size of the cup to allow the breast to fit correctly or comfortably therein. Other attempts to address the problem involve brassieres being constructed with elasticized cups that stretch to the extent required for each breast; however, this results in visibly different sized breasts when seen from the outside, which can be embarrassing and/or is otherwise undesirable to the wearer. Others employ straps that may be tightened or loosened to accommodate each breast. Again, this results in visibly different sized breasts when worn. Still others employ separable cups so that the wearer may purchase the appropriately sized cup for each breast and assemble the cups to form the brassiere; however, the difference in the sizes of the cups is again noticeable. Thus, what is needed is a brassiere that can accommodate unevenly sized breasts that does not have the disadvantages of known solutions to the problem.
Various features and aspects of the invention will become apparent upon review of the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are briefly described as follows.